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- in Brotherfield 1874 - 1884
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- 1000+ pertinent images
Brotherfield, SD
- Location and Plat Map
New Home, ND
- Location and Plat Map
Shafter, CA
- 1953 Duerksen Reunion
- "Duerksen Book"
Mennonite Brethren
- Origin of Brotherfield MB
Seventh-day Adventist
- Origin of Brotherfield SDA
Reference Materials
- Books, Family Histories, etc.

In the 1880's many of the Brotherfield Mennonite Brethren became Adventists and went north to New Home, ND.
From there many descendants went to Kansas, Oklahoma, Escondido and eventually to Shafter, California.
These photos were taken in 1930 and 1932. Click on them to see identified persons, or to help identify them.

These people, associated with members of the 1915 - 1923 Shafter SDA German Church and identified on the 1953 Reunion Pages, urged Dr. Alvin W. Gaede to prepare a Duerksen family history. Gaede crafted the Johann Duerksen History (1750 - 1840) from an English translation by Marcellus Duerksen (and possibly another translation by Adelaide Duerksen Middleton) of John Funk Duerksen's 1928 Family History. These documents are preserved in the Marcellus Duerksen Folder archived in the Hiebert Library. They constitute the "Duerksen Book". View the Documents The later discovery of an 1835 Russian Census of Molotschna Colony revealed many conflicts and inaccuracies in Duerksen's 1928 papers. Alan Peters explained in the June 1995 Mennonite Historical Society Bulletin that the Duerksen progenitor is not the fictional Johann Duerksen (1750-1840) but in fact was Cornelius Dircks born about 1736. Factual and circumstantial evidence indicates that Cornelius Dircks had two sons, Johann Dircks (1766-1855), later spelled Duerksen, and David Dircks (1761-1818). It was David Dircks who married three times, not the fictional Johann Duerksen. Children John Funk Duerksen had assigned to the fictional Johann Duerksen's fictitious 2nd and 3rd marriage were actually those of his brother David. In my view, John Funk Duerksen mixed up the history of his great grand parents Johann Cornelius and Katharina Dircks in an understandable way. John Funk would only have heard tales of his great grandfather Johann Cornelius Duerksen, who helped establish Alexanderthal in 1820. Johann Cornelius died eight years before John Funk was born. Perhaps inaccurate tales and recollections caused John Funk to write that his great grandfather had children from three marriages. In fact it was David Duerksen who married three times and was the father of many children listed as Johann's. David died in Prussia, but his son Cornelius David Duerksen had emigrated with Johann Cornelius to settle the new village of Alexanderthal. Events described in "Mennonite Migrations" and the circumstance of their 1920 settlement of Alexanderthal provide a compelling argument that John Funk's great grandfather Johann Kornelius was David's brother. The Mennonite DNA Project may eventually prove or disprove that David and Johann were brothers. Until then I present them as such in this genealogy. Mike Dirksen, 26 Aug 2011.